Oglethorpe Speedway regular Lonnie Brant and pit crew member Shane Chapman make last-minute preparations before the start of a race. Brant has a total of five sponsors, including Love's Seafood and R&R Electric.

Oglethorpe Speedway regular Lonnie Brant and pit crew member Shane Chapman make last-minute preparations before the start of a race. Brant has a total of five sponsors, including Love's Seafood and R&R Electric.

Better brush up on your business skills, because victory at the half-mile dirt track in Pooler starts with success in obtaining sponsors.

The stars are behind the wheel, but the sponsors drive the action.

"If it wasn't for sponsors, I wouldn't be able to afford to race," said Midway's Donald Norby, the Love's Seafood Street Stocks division point leader at Oglethorpe.

Norby's major sponsors are Chatham Collision Center, R&R Electric and Morris Garage & Towing in Bluffton, S.C. Together, the businesses supply him with racing essentials such as auto parts, tires, engines, paint and the car's body.

In exchange for their support, Norby advertises the businesses' names and logos on the body of his 2005 Chevy Monte Carlo. It's that simple. There are no signed contracts, just an agreement sealed with a handshake.

It's like that for every driver who competes in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series on Friday nights. There is no such thing as a typical sponsorship. A driver solicits various businesses and explains why that business would benefit from providing sponsorship. Sometimes, a partnership is formed.

Norby convinced Chatham Collision Center to provide him with an engine, a car body and paint. R&R Electric and Morris Garage & Towing supplied him with tires.

"From my end of it, all I really have to come up with is manpower, spending time working on the car," Norby said. "Out of my own pocket, I buy the gas and the tickets for my family to come out and watch the races. Between the gas and the tickets every week, it averages about $100 a week to race."

After Norby wins a Love's Seafood Street Stocks race, he stands in front of his car in Victory Lane and is interviewed by either Brian "Yankee" Millar or "Magic" Mike Covert, OSP's announcers.

Every time he makes it there, Norby makes sure to thank his sponsors for their support.

"For a lot of them, that's their form of advertising," Norby said. "Every little bit of attention you give them helps."

Norby even thanks Love's Seafood Restaurant of Richmond Hill for sponsoring the Street Stocks division. It's a goodwill gesture on his part.

"I just consider them (Love's Seafood) as being a regular sponsor of the car," Norby said. "They do a lot for us, and if they didn't sponsor our division, we might not be able to race."

'A sponsor's dream'

OSP Chief Steward Faron Jenkins said anyone interested in becoming a driver can do so for as little as $600 in the Four Star Security 440s division, the track's beginner classification.

"In our 440s division, you can get started and race with about a $600 to $700 car, and that includes the roll cage and everything," Jenkins said. "On the other end of the spectrum, I know there are two cars in our Late Models division that are $30,000 each."

By all accounts, Norby's sponsorship agreement is one of the better deals among the drivers who compete at OSP. His success at obtaining financial backing can be attributed to his professionalism.

Rob Coker, owner of Vital Signs, oversees the detailing of many of the cars that race at OSP, and he puts businesses' decals on the cars. Coker said a driver like Norby is a sponsor's dream.

"Donald Norby is a gentleman," Coker said of the man nicknamed 'The Gentle Giant.' "He's fair and he's one of those guys that does it the right way and tries so hard. People (sponsors) come to him. I've seen years where, even in his toughest times, he's gotten sponsors because of the way he's carried himself."

At the end of each racing season, Norby has plaques made for each of his sponsors "to show them our appreciation," he said. He also gives some of his trophies to his sponsors to display at their businesses.

"When I was first starting out, I was living at home with mom and dad, so not having many sponsors wasn't a big deal," Norby said. "But when you have a family, like I do now, you have to have sponsors to be able to afford to race. Just look at the price of gas. Gas is up higher this year and that alone is taking a lot of money. Without sponsors, I wouldn't be able to race."

Before Millar began announcing races at OSP, he was a driver. The 1998 season was the last full season in which he raced. He said he and his pit crew "spent right at $20,000" on their car that season.

Millar said the pressure to win races is great because failing to do so could result in being dropped by a sponsor.

"You have to perform," Millar said. "No sponsor wants to be known as the last-place car. When you get a sponsor, you're a salesman for that company and that product. You can't go out and fight with other drivers and degrade the product.

"A race car is nothing but a rolling billboard. As the driver, you carry that billboard. The best way to show off that billboard is to get into Victory Lane."

Before Litchfield solicited various businesses, he created a portfolio showcasing the highlights of his racing career. He then visited various businesses and shared his portfolio while making a pitch for sponsorship. It worked.

TNT Truck Parts, Litchfield's first major sponsor, buys tires for him and also has supplied him with "floor jacks and all kinds of tools, spray paint, lots of things," he said.

W.T. Dixon Concrete Construction joined Litchfield's sponsorship team last season.

"He had been coming to the races as a fan for a few years and he wanted to get involved," Litchfield said. "He said he really liked the way I drove. He said I was a good, clean driver and he wanted to be a part of our team."

A sponsor's help is not limited to tools and tires. Litchfield recently built a shop to work on his car.

"R&R Electric did a lot of the wiring on my shop," he said. "The money I saved there, I was able to spend on the race car. It doesn't always have to be parts or money from a sponsor. Every little bit helps.

"For the first two or three years of my racing career, it was me and my dad who had to foot the bill for all the expenses."

A part of the team

The key to finding a sponsor, Litchfield said, is knowing where to look.

"You've got to find people who are interested in racing to begin with," Litchfield said. "If they're not interested in racing, it's going to be awfully hard to get them to become a sponsor.

"Once you get a couple of sponsors, they have people that they do business with that they can refer. And you start talking with the people they do business with, and you might invite them out to a race."

Litchfield is adamant about making his sponsors feel like they are valuable members of his team, regardless of how much money they give. He gives his sponsors orange-colored T-shirts like those worn by members of his Orange Army pit crew.

"A sponsor might not give you but $200, but you treat him the way you would treat someone who gives you $2,000," Litchfield said. "You just be gracious for whatever they offer. Sometimes, even when I need money, I have a hard time just approaching people and saying, 'Hey, can you give me some money?' because money is hard to come by."

Litchfield said he does not ask businesses for a specific amount of money.

"I leave it up to each sponsor," he said. "I don't pin a sponsor down on any set thing like money. There are no contracts or anything like that."

In turn, Litchfield does not guarantee his sponsors that he will win a certain number of races. What he does guarantee is that a business will be supporting a driver who is a clean-cut sportsman who takes care of his equipment and consistently is competitive.

"You want to make sure that your sponsor enjoys coming out to the race," Litchfield said. "It's something to do on a Friday night and it's fun, but if you're not competitive and you don't conduct yourself in a professional manner then it's not going to be fun for your sponsor. When your sponsor stops enjoying the race, if you're consistently finishing 15th each week, then he's going to stop wanting to support you."

When Litchfield finds himself taking the checkered flag and celebrating in Victory Lane, he knows his first priority is to give thanks.

"Any time you get a chance to thank your sponsors, you've got to take it," he said. "The first thing you want to do is thank your crew, but then you need to thank your sponsors. They may not be turning wrenches, but they're a big part of getting you to the racetrack each week. Without your sponsors, you wouldn't be racing."

Cash prizes from winning races barely cover expenses.

"Sometimes, I wonder why I race because it can be a lot of work," Litchfield said. "I would say 95 percent of the people out there take that (prize) money and put it right back into the car.''

Cash prizes from winning races rarely allow a driver to turn a profit.

"It's a hobby, and a lot of hobbies don't pay back," Litchfield said. "Fortunately, we're in a hobby that can pay back from time to time if you have success. If you run well, you can pretty much keep yourself in the green."

Some drivers lack charm

Sponsors, in addition to having their logos on cars and receiving kudos in Victory Lane, want the drivers they support to demonstrate a willingness to reciprocate.

Coker, owner of Vital Signs for the past 14 years, raced from 1996 until 2003. He said Quality Drywall was his main sponsor, and he frequently inquired about what he could do to help promote the business.

"When I was sponsored, I know my attitude about it was I need to try to do as much for them as they're doing for me," he said. "You don't see as many guys doing that anymore."

Coker said drivers would do well to make a greater effort to see what they can do for sponsors. For example, he said a driver might offer to bring his race car to a sponsor's company picnic.

"It's a conversation piece," Coker said. "And a driver might be able to pick up more sponsors in the process. The attitude should be more 'What can I do for you off the track?' instead of 'What can I do for you on the track?' "

Coker provides all of the decals for their cars free of charge. He said his business, Vital Signs, has benefited from sponsoring the trio.

"It's done its job," Coker said of the partnership. "It's a win-win deal for everybody."

Coker, however, said he is less eager to sponsor drivers than he was in the past.

"I've gotten very selective over the years about who I sponsor," he said. "There is a lack of a charm school that I think would be very beneficial to the drivers out there. It would be nice if there was a way the track (OSP) could teach them how to represent a sponsor, the dos and the don'ts, pointers.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's a job interview. There's very little difference. I pick them, for the most part. I select them. It sounds bad, but the way some of them handle themselves, the way they carry themselves, is unprofessional. Some of them are rough around the edges. They know they have a passion to do something (race), and they know they need to find a way to do it. And a lot of times, that's all they focus on."

Fulton Love, owner of Love's Seafood Restaurant in Richmond Hill, sponsors two Street Stocks cars that are driven by Midway's John McCosker and Garden City's Charles Swann. Love also co-owns a Late Models car with Judge Hearn of R&R Electric. He said he and Hearn have "probably got $25,000 to $30,000 (invested) in that Late Model (car)."

Love also sponsors the Love's Seafood Street Stocks division at OSP. As a result, all of the cars that compete in the Street Stocks division are required to have a Love's Seafood sticker on their cars.

"That's part of the deal of us sponsoring the division," Love said.

"It's like a rolling billboard out there."

Love also advertises in the form of signs placed in various locations at the speedway.

"We get a lot of mileage out of it," he said. "I don't know if it pays us back what we put into it. I'd like to think so. But it's a hobby. It's a lot of fun."

For businesses, winning isn't everything when it comes to sponsoring a driver.

"You want to look at the driver's attitude," Love said. "If it's a driver that wins an awful lot but stays in controversy, that doesn't build business. You want to sponsor a driver who, even if he doesn't win all the time, demonstrates that he's a good sport and that he takes care of his car."

Norby has demonstrated sportsmanship and consistency at OSP for the past 14 years in the Street Stocks division. He said he has only missed five or six races during that span. A lot of Norby's success comes from his talent. Some of his success has been sheer luck.

"A couple of years ago, we were having a lot of bad luck," Norby said. "I had the motor break in the front yard at home as we were loading up to come to the track. We still went ahead and came out to the race, and I was sitting in the stands and Frank Creel and his wife, who own Chatham Collision Center, asked me why I wasn't racing.

"I told them what happened, and Frank told me to call him Monday. He bought me a new motor, and that's how he became a sponsor."

It's been a lasting partnership for five years running.

"A race car is nothing but a rolling billboard. As the driver, you carry that billboard. The best way to show off that billboard is to get into Victory Lane."